1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I’m writing as a lifelong Californian and committed voter who is alarmed by the direction of your recent rhetoric and policy decisions. This is an existential fight against fascism and you’re walking the line of Vichy France. I’m particularly appalled by your efforts to walk back support for undocumented immigrants, encourage sweeps of homeless encampments, and fraternize with figures like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk under the guise of pragmatism. These aren’t signs of leadership. They’re signals of political insecurity. And worse, they’re backfiring. If this is part of a broader strategy to reposition yourself ahead of 2028, you’re not just misjudging your base; you’re misunderstanding the electorate entirely. What voters respect and respond to isn’t ideological purity. It’s authenticity. That’s why Donald Trump, a corrupt authoritarian with incoherent policies, commands loyalty from millions. His supporters don’t love him because of what he does…they love him because of what they think he is: blunt, unapologetic, authentic. That same phenomenon explains why figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, despite being ideological opposites to Trump, have a surprising amount of cross-over appeal with disaffected Trump voters. Their politics are progressive, even radical; but they’re consistent. They don’t hedge. They don’t spin. They say what they mean and stick to it. By contrast, your recent moves scream calculation. That’s why they’re landing so poorly, not just with your core supporters, but also with the centrists and independents you’re trying to court. People can smell it. You’re not threading a needle. You’re unraveling your credibility. This is the same trap that sank Kamala Harris’s presidential run. Faced with defending a record she clearly didn’t fully stand behind, she came across not as principled, but as performative. That perception, regardless of the policies, was fatal. Voters sensed the disconnect. They always do. If you want to lead us nationally against fascism, the path isn’t through ideological triangulation. It’s through conviction. Stand for something, and stand for it openly. Stop chasing the ghosts of electability myths sold by consultants who still think it’s 1996. The liberal base doesn’t need a Democrat who sounds like a smarter version of a Republican. We need one who sounds like a better version of a Democrat and means it. This moment requires courage, not calibration. You still have time to choose which you’ll be remembered for.